16

I met Kelsey and her mom Sherri last summer in Texas at “Rock The Desert” a festival I was playing at.  Months later when Sherri saw I was offering custom songs she ordered one for her daughter. I’ve been writing songs for people, fans, and friends for about a year now.  This one is special to me because it’s the first one I recorded in my new studio.  It’s also the first song Jeff Frankenstein and I worked on together.  I met Jeff this summer on the same flight to that festival where his band The Newsboys was headlining.  He added some keys and did the mix to this song!

When someone orders a song I ask them for details about the person they are ordering it for.  On this particular one Sherri gave me the following tidbits of info:

- It would be cool if her Daddy could sing her a song with her name in it.
- She is only 16..just turned 16.
- The sweetest girl in the world.
- She loves Jesus with her whole heart!
- She plays guitar and piano.
- She loves your puma song and mexican food.
- She is home-schooled.
- She is saving her heart for courtship.
- She is pure and kind..a real treasure to her daddy and I…..

So with those facts in mind I began writing.  The chorus came first and I just stumbled upon it improvising and jammin in my room.

chorus lyrics:
She’s only 16 looks like a prom queen
and when she sings she can
light up the room light up the room

And then I started writing the verses.  My friend Terah helped me whenever I got stuck on the verses.  She was also home schooled, plays music and loves God so she could relate I think.

1st verse:
kelsey 16 not yo avg drama queen
she’s got her eyes on the prize
which is serving the king of her heart
he’s her reason her rhyme no matter the season or time
and when life falls apart you gotta stand tall
and dream big i look back to when i was a kid and
that’s what i did i wanted to sing before i wrote a song
so if you like to play piano then just jam along

2nd verse:
if life gets hard cuz it probably will
you gotta trust in God and remain real
and be still and know that he’s in control
even when the rain turns into hail and snow
let go of your worries let go of your pain
know that He remains much bigger than our brain
how can we comprehend Him
He took all of our sins and now we’re forgivin
livin a new beginning

3rd verse:
Jesus captor of her heart inspires her passion and art
guiding her steps from the start and if guys are steppin
they must represent Him
cuz she’s only walking in the Lords direction
so daddy wants to sing a song
so daddy can sing along
it goes k to the e – l – s to the e – y
cmon daddy try cuz it goes like
–

I emailed the song to Sherri and she wrote back:

“She loves it..I tried to wait til Christmas to give it to her..but couldn’t wait.  It is perfect.  Thanks for your speediness..a blessing to wake up to this morning!”

- To download the single click here!
- Text the word SIXTEEN to 66937 for a free ringtone and a chance to win the single
-To order a custom song click here!

~ by Paul Wright on January 18, 2009.